Here’s an article from the BBC entitled “Police team up for rape campaign”. I am doubtless not the only one to have read enough articles with similar titles to now be approaching this one with trepidation.

What debate is this meant to be sparking, anyway; whether women ought to be allowed to work? Whether women who choose to do so are bad mothers? You know what? We’ve had this debate, such as it is. It’s been done. It’s silly, and it’s offensive. The thing is, the people who feel comfortable plastering this sentiment all over the public spaces of the United Kingdom haven’t given a great deal of consideration to the actual lives of the real live women they’re talking about.

The horror of this is in more than just the commodification of violence against women. It’s not just about the buying and selling of images, symbols of women’s oppression. It’s about the survivors of violence having to endure these t-shirts being thrust in their faces when they walk down the street, at a party, going about their everyday lives. The horror in this is in forcing on these women reminders of their assaults and that their experiences and feelings are just fine to use and make a profit from, so void of emotional hardship as to be suitable fodder for an up-market fashion chain.